The Tokyo 2020 Olympics is gearing up to be one of the most high-tech and innovative Games in history and following the announcement that it will employ facial recognition security at venues, it’s set be one of the safest too.
The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games revealed that it will use face recognition technology to verify the identity of athletes, officials, members of staff and media representatives at the Games. It will be the first time the technology will be used at the Olympic Games.
The system is provided by NEC and works by collecting and storing the photos of all accredited individuals on a database, which is then referenced when each person uses an entry check point. The check points feature both a scanner for badges and a camera to verify the identify of the person.
The security technology is said to drastically increase security levels at the Games, precluding spoofing, forgery and the use of lost or stolen accreditations, and increase the speed of entry.
“The key to Games security is to prevent unauthorized people or items from entering venues. Tokyo 2020 will utilize an automated face recognition system for accredited people, a first for an Olympic or Paralympic Games, to prevent unauthorized access,” said Tokyo 2020 executive director of security Tsuyoshi Iwashita.
“This latest technology will enable strict identification of accredited people compared with relying solely on the eyes of security staff, and also enables swift entry to venues which will be necessary in the intense heat of summer.”
August 9, 2018
